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SWCS to hold memorial service in honor of retired Special Forces command sergeant major

By Dave Chace, SWCS Public Affairs OfficeMarch 15, 2012

SWCS to hold memorial service in honor of retired Special Forces command sergeant major
Command Sgt. Maj. George E. Miller, Jr. retired from active-duty military service in 2004 after 30 years in uniform, primarily in the U.S. Army's Special Forces community. Following his military retirement, he served as a civilian staff member at the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

A 30-year U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and valued member of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School civilian staff passed away unexpectedly March 11 due to complications from surgery.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. George E. Miller, Jr., who held the Force Protection Officer position at SWCS, retired from military service in 2004. At the time of his death, he was 56 years old.

A viewing will be held from 7-9 p.m. March 16 at the Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, located at 500 Ramsey St. in Fayetteville, N.C. Flowers may also be sent to this address.

A military memorial service will be held in Miller's honor at 11 a.m. March 17 in the John F. Kennedy Memorial Chapel on Fort Bragg, N.C.

Miller entered the U.S. Army in July 1973, serving as a tank crewmember, hawk missile fire control operator and pulse acquisition radar mechanic. In 1978, he graduated the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg as a Special Forces medical sergeant. His first assignment with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was as a member of a combat dive and military freefall team, and later as a senior medical sergeant. In 1983, Miller transferred to the 10th SFG(A) in Bad Tolz, Germany, where he served as a senior medical sergeant and intelligence sergeant.

Miller reported to be an instructor and dive medical technician at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Fla. in 1983. Four years later, Miller reported to Fort Bragg, N.C., staying within the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, to be an instructor for the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course. He served as the SOTIC noncommissioned officer-in-charge until 1990.

Following his tour at SWCS, Miller returned to 10th SFG(A) to be the team sergeant for an operational detachment--alpha in Bad Tolz. While assigned to 10th SFG(A), Miller took part in Operation Desert Storm, where he was a member of a combat search-and-rescue team working primarily in northern Iraq and Turkey.

In 1992, he reported to 3rd SFG(A) at Fort Bragg and served in various positions, including team sergeant, first sergeant, battalion operations sergeant major and group operations sergeant major. As a company sergeant major, Miller deployed in support of Operation Provide Comfort, where he managed the largest refugee camp in the theater, and was responsible for the care and welfare of approximately 250,000 Kurdish refugees.

In October 2000, Miller was promoted to command sergeant major, serving in this position for four years in the 1st Battalion of the 7th SFG(A). He led numerous deployments throughout the Southern Command theater, including counter-narco-terrorist missions in Colombia and the reintroduction of Special Forces to Panama.

Miller's military awards include the Legion of Merit, three Meritorious Service medals, two Army Commendation medals, five Army Achievement medals, the Joint Meritorious Unit and Army Superior Unit awards, ten Army Good Conduct medals, three National Defense Service medals, the Master Parachutist Badge, the Special Forces tab, the Combat Diver badge, and airborne wings from Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Honduras and Tunisia.

Donations in memory of retired Command Sgt. Maj. George E. Miller, Jr. may be made to the Wounded Warrior Foundation.